Indonesian people do not have any particular time to drink coffee. They can have their coffee at morning, afternoon, or evening. On the other hand, Italians possess their own culture of drinking coffee. “In Italia, having their coffee after 11 a.m. is something strange,” declared Roberta Salzano, one of the speakers at the discussion on ‘Coffee Culture in Colombia, Italy, and Indonesia’ on Tuesday (14/11) at building of K.H. Mas Mansyur of Universitas Muhamamdiyah Yogyakarta (UMY).

It was conducted by International Relations Officer (IRO) of UMY collaborating with Language Training Center (LTC) of UMY, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Embassy of Colombia and Indonesia, and Istituto Italiano di Cultura. The discussion was for not only students and lecturers of UMY but also public.

Roberto Salzano informed that coffee is important for Italians so that it is not surprising if coffee shops, particularly downtown coffee shops, are crowded in the morning. “The most favorite coffee in Italy is espresso and cappuccino,” she told.

Italians commonly have their coffee with bread and jam. “Many Italians are in a rush at morning so that you will see they order coffee and drink it in a bar. You will not find Italians enjoying their espresso in the morning. Espresso means ‘being made on time’ so that it will be less tasty if you take long time to consume it,” explained Roberta.

Meanwhile, the other speaker from Colombia stated that coffee is a part of Colombians’ life. “I am a coffee farmer, so were my father, mother and siblings. Thus, there are myself, my other, and my grandfather in this coffee,” he expressed.

Santiago conveyed that coffee can unite and eliminate social classes. “People from high to low class are fond of drinking coffee. Hence, coffee brings us together,” he maintained.

Indeed, both Santiago Gonzales and Roberta Salzano admitted that coffee in Indonesia tastes delicious and it is not inferior to coffee from Italian and Colombia. “We have to know that coffee is not originated from neither Italia, Colombia, nor Indonesia, but it was firstly found in Ethiopia (Africa),” said Santiago.